Whirlwind Recordings are set to present City Of Poets, a strong international quintet led by rising star French pianist Cedric Hanriot and stellar US trumpeter JasonPalmer, who perform at Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho on 22 September. The band also features prodigious saxophone talent Danny McCaslin and a powerful rhythm section of expat Whirlwind label boss and bassist Michael Janisch and highly regarded US drummer Clarence Penn.

Keyboardist and composer Hanriot has worked with renowned American bassist John Patitucci and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, who both appeared on his debut 2011 solo album French Stories, while his increasingly high-profile sideman work includes Dianne Reeves’ latest soul-jazz infused album, Beautiful Life, from earlier this year. He often utilises laptop effects and synths to add a contemporary edge to his sound, which he also explores in his groOovematic electro-acousticpiano trio. US trumpeter Jason Palmer is also a rising star of note and has already worked with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Ravi Coltrane and Wynton Marsalis among many others, as well as releasing three solo albums as a leader.

The London City Of Poets performance is part of a US, UK and European tour that also visits New York, Boston, Wales, London and ends in Paris at the Sunset Sunside Club for two nights on 26-27 September. The band will also conduct master classes while in London at Trinity Laban Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Music on 24 and 25 September respectively.

The Pizza Express date will see the group perform original music composed by Hanriot and Palmer who draw inspiration from Hugo Award-winning sci-fi writer Dan Simmons. They combine elements from his stories into a three-part suite that also uses Olivier Messiaen’s famed ‘7 modes of limited transportation’ as a starting point for both composition and improvisation. The gig will also be recorded for a live album that is set for release on Whirlwind Recordings in 2015. – Mike Flynn

Acclaimed American saxophonist Branford Marsalis has announced the release of a new solo album, In My Solitude – Live in Concert at Grace Cathedral, which will be available in the UK from 20 October 2014 on the OKeh label. The record comprises 11 tracks, including music by Steve Lacy and Ryo Noda, ‘Sonata in A Minor for Oboe: I. Poco adagio’ by C.P.E Bach and Hoagy Carmichael’s ‘Stardust’, interwoven with passages of spontaneous improvisation. It was recorded on 5 October 2012 when Marsalis became one of an elite group of jazz musicians to have performed at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral since its consecration in 1965, conducted to the soundtrack of Duke Ellington’sConcert of Sacred Music.

Shortly after the album’s release, Marsalis will lead his quartet on a European tour, with two sets at the EFG London Jazz Festival (one evening performance and a second later than night) now confirmed for Friday 14 November 2014. The group, which features Joey Calderazzo on piano, Eric Revis on bass and the 23 year old Justin Faulkner on drums, will also play dates in Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain and Poland before returning to the USA. Marsalis also appears on a new Grateful Dead live three CD set, Wake Up To Find Out, recorded at Nassau Coliseum on 29 March 1990, which is released on Rhino Records this week.

Pianist, keyboard player and composer Joe Sample, a founding member of jazz-funk giants The Crusaders, has died at the age of 75. He passed away at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas at 9.50pm local time on Friday 12 September after suffering from mesothelioma.

Sample first rose to fame in the 1950s as part of hard bop ensemble the Jazz Crusaders, which he founded alongside trombonist Wayne Henderson, tenor saxophonist Wilton Felder and drummer Stix Hooper. The group released their first album Freedom Sound in 1961, building up a sizeable following from their base in Los Angeles. In the early 1970s they dropped the ‘Jazz’ prefix, becoming known simply as The Crusaders, and embraced jazz-funk, with Sample increasingly opting to play keyboards over piano, developing a gritty signature sound on Fender Rhodes. They greatly expanded their audience as a result, securing numerous chart hits, among them the Sample composition ‘Street Life’ – featuring vocalist Randy Crawford – which reached number 36 in Billboard’s Hot 100 chart following its release in 1979.

Meanwhile, Sample was enjoying a busy career as session player, recording with artists such as Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, Steely Dan and B.B. King, which continued following the breakup of The Crusaders in 1987. The end of the group also allowed him to focus on his solo career and he released several jazz-pop albums under his own name, including three collaborations with Randy Crawford and drummer Steve Gadd on the PRA label – Feeling Good (2007), No Regrets (2008) and Live (2012) – the latter featuring Sample’s son Nicklas on bass.

Shortly before his death, the pianist had been performing with his Creole Joe Band and was working on a musical entitled Quadroon. He was due to appear at Ronnie Scott’s in London’s Soho between 7 and 9 August 2014, but the performance was cancelled in late July due to his ill health. Sample’s death was announced on 13 September via a post on his Facebook page and was accompanied by a message from his wife Yolanda and son Nicklas thanking fans for their support. “Please know that Joe was aware and very appreciative of all of your prayers, comments, letters/cards and well wishes,” it read. A superb composer and outstanding pianist, he will be greatly missed.

The full programme for this year’s EFG London Jazz Festival, which runs from 14-23 November and is sponsored by Jazzwise, has now been confirmed and will be available for download from the festival’s website from early next week. Newly announced details include the full line-up for the opening-night vocal gala, Jazz Voice. This year’s event will feature singers Kurt Elling, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Emma Smith, Georgie Fame, Jacob Banks, Sachal, and Vula Malinga, who will be backed by a 40-piece orchestra arranged and directed by Guy Barker. Two shows from Jan Garbarek and The Hilliard Ensemble (above), which are set to take place in Temple Church at 7.30 pm on Friday 14 and Sunday 16 November, have also been added to the billing, with tickets due to go on sale on 1 October.

Other additions include details of the festival’s film programme, which comprises three showings at the Barbican Cinema, beginning with Roman Polanski’s Knife in the Water, a classic 1962 film with a score by Krzysztof Komeda. This will be screened on Saturday 15 November at 3pm, following a performance of Komeda’s music by pianist Marcin Masecki. On Sunday16 November Shirley Clarke’s controversial 1961 exploration of addiction, The Connection, will be screened at 3pm; while Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, a film about the life of a jazz drummer which won the Best Picture category at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is due to be screened on Thursday 20 November at 8.40pm.

The 68-page brochure details the festival’s 21 Commissions Programme. Following the success of last year’s scheme, which was introduced to celebrate the festival’s 21st birthday, this year sees a further raft of commissions from artists including Marcus Miller, John Surman, The Bad Plus, Arun Ghosh and rising stars pianist Elliot Galvin and sax player Phil Meadows.

Free talks taking place at this year’s festival can also be found in the guide with highlights including an interview with Kenny Barron and Dave Holland on Friday 21 November at 6.30pm in the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. A talk entitled South Africa 20 years on and the Legacy of the Blue Notes takes place at 12.45pm and 3.30pm on Saturday 15 November in the Southbank Centre’s Front Room. Blue Note at 75 – Don Was meets Richard Havers at 6pm on Saturday 22 November in the Southbank’s Level 5 Function Room is also likely to draw a crowd as is, Jazz Rants: The Jazz Industry and The Creative Economy at 7pm on Wednesday 19November in Club Inégales.

The Ronnie Scott’s Radio Show is due to return to Jazz FM as part of a series of changes to the station’s programming which will come into force on 15 September 2014. The show, presented by singer Ian Shaw, will feature backstage interviews as well as broadcasting live recordings and highlights from the club. It will be aired on Saturdays between 6–7pm.

Elsewhere on Jazz FM’s just announced schedule of specialist programmes (all for broadcast on weekdays from 6-7pm) is Monday night’s The Performance Series, featuring live material recorded exclusively for the station; James Tormé’sThe Jazz Singers, to be broadcast on Tuesdays; TransAtlantic Jazz with Vinny Marino on Wednesdays, covering contemporary jazz-funk crossover acts such as Robert Glasper and Snarky Puppy; Bob Sinfield’s swing, big band and electro-swing focused Peppermint Candy on Thursdays; and the popular Jazz Travels with Sarah Ward, which has now moved to Fridays.

Further changes to the programming include the arrival of Lynn Parsons (pictured left) who will present the station’s weekday breakfast show from 6–9am. A former presenter for Capital and BBC Radio, Parsons will take the reins on Monday 15 September, with the show’s current presenter, John Osborne, moving to the Weekend Breakfast Show.

Jazz FM is broadcast across the UK and is available on Sky Channel 0202, Freesat 729, via mobile and, in the London area, on DAB Digital Radio.